1996-06-08: ECW @ Bodyslam Arena in Reading, PA
JT Smith comes to ringside and takes the mic and says that he is supposed to be in a tag team match but Little Guido is not there with him. Smith says that Guido’s mother’s sister has a kid wrestling in ECW. Wouldn’t that just be his cousin? Smith brings out Super Nova to be his partner and Nova dances his way to the ring
JT Smith & Super Nova vs. Dudley Boys (w/ Dances With & Sign Guy Dudley) ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Smith and Nova attack from behind as Buh Buh and D-Von argue. The Dudleys fight back and Buh Buh hits a drop kick. Nova and Smith roll to the floor. Buh Buh and Nova start off the match. They lock up and Nova works over the arm. Buh Buh backs Nova into a corner and hits him with his butt a few times. Nova reverses and corner whip and hops towards Buh Buh and hits a drop kick. He charges but misses. Buh Buh hits a slingshot gordbuster and tags D-Von. D-Von hits an elbow and tags back to Buh Buh. Nova crawls to make the tag but Smith walks away. Double back elbow by the Dudleys. Buh Buh hits a avalanche in the corner and D-Von hits a flying forearm. Again Nova goes for the tag but Smith drops off the apron. D-Von whips Nova towards Buh Buh and he hits him with his but again. Slam by D-Von followed by a headbutt. Smith again drops off the apron as Nova goes for a tag. Bodyslam by D-Von and Buh Buh comes off the top but misses a splash. Now Smith takes the tag and comes in and starts working over Buh Buh. Smith hits a drop kick and splash from the apron back into the ring. Smith goes up top and hits a splash. Slam by Smith and he goes to springboard himself off the ropes but slips. Nova makes a tag in but quickly tags back to Smith. Snapmare takes over Buh Buh and Smith comes off the top with a somersault senton. Smith goes for a powerbomb but Buh Buh hits him low. Both teams make tags D-Von hits a chokeslam on Nova. Nails Smith with a chair and goes up top as Buh Buh holds Nova. D-Von goes up top with the chair but Nova moves and he nails Buh Buh. D-Von hits a flying forearm on Nova and pins him for the win at 10.54. Buh Buh and D-Von argue and shove each other after the match. D-Von hits Dances With and Sign Guy with the chair. Big Dick comes through the crowd again as D-Von is leaving.
Jason Helton vs. Paul Varelans ref Jim Molineaux MMA rules match
Varelans hits a knee and big elbow to the back and Helton is down for the ten count ending the fight in .27. Helton gets carried to the back by Damage Control and a few refs.
“The Shah” Hack Meyers vs. Axl Rotten ref John Finnegan
Hack hits the ringside area and for some reason he beats up Joel Gertner and hits him with a chair. Axl goes outside to help him and whips in into the guardrail. That will likely be the most exciting thing to this match. The bell rings and we are underway. Lock up to start both men push off each other. Hacks drops to the floor and throws Gertner into the crowd. I’m not really sure why any of this is happening. They lock up again Axl gets pushed into a corner and we get a clean break. Headlock by Hack, Axl pushes him off and both me crash into each other but neither moves. Hack with a headlock takeover, Axl reverses to a head scissor and Hack kicks out of it. Axl whips in Hack, he ducks a clothesline hits a shoulder tackle but then gets hip tossed. Axl misses an elbow and Hack gets up and cracks Axl across the jaw with an upper cut. Some back and forth arm bars and hammerlocks. Hack catches an Axl kick and throws some punches that take down Axl. Axl complains to the ref. Hack hits some more punches and as Axl falls to the ground his foot comes up and kicks Hack in between the legs. Irish whip by Axl and he hits a clothesline. Axl sends Hack to the floor and follows but Hack grabs a chair and hits him with it. Axl sends Hack into the rail and throws him into the crowd. They fight to the outside of the arena and into the parking lot. Back in the arena Hack hits Axl with a chair. They brawl in the crowd for a few more minutes until they make it back to the ring. Hack goes for three covers and gets a 2 count each time. Snapmare and an arm bar by Hack. The bell rings and we have a time limit draw at 13.14. That’s an odd time limit for a match. Both men get on the mic and have words for each other.
Mikey Whipwreck vs. El Puerto Ricano ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Ricano attacks as the ref checks Mikey for weapons. He hammers away but Mikey reverses an irish whip and hits a clothesline that takes both men to the floor. Whip to the guardrail and Mikey uses a baking sheet. Ricano reverses a whip and Mikey hits the rail. Mikey reverses and irish whip and Ricano backflips out of a back drop attempt. He grabs Mikey and irish whips him again and hits a back elbow. Body slam by Ricano, he jumps up to the top rope but slips onto the apron. He jumps on it again and hits a splash for 2. Again he jumps onto the top rope this time successfully hit a moonsault for another 2. Ricano grabs an armbar and runs up the turnbuckle and jumps off hitting a headscrissor. He throws Mikey to the corner and follows but Mikey leap frogs into a head scissor through the ropes to the floor. Mikey throws Ricano back in the ring and slingshots himself over the ropes into the ring hitting the Mr. Perfect next snap. Irish whip and Mikey ducks the head and Ricano throws him back to the mat. Clothesline by Ricano. Mikey reverses a croner whip follows with a clothesline and sends Ricano back the other way. He charges right behind but Ricano leaps to the top rope and hits a drop kick. Ricano grabs the arm again walks up the turnbuckle and across the rops and leaps of for a frankenstiener but, Mikey reverses to a powerbomb. He grabs Ricano in a la magistral cradle that gets him the win at 7.09.
Ring announcer Bob Artese is in the ring running down some matches for the June 21st Lulu Temple show and June 22nd Hardcore Heaven at the ECW Arena.
Bad Crew vs. Damien Kane (w/ Lady Alexandra) & “Dangerous” Devon Storm ref Jim Molineaux
Kane gets on the mic before the match and I swear to you it sounds like he’s just saying dweedly dee sweedally. I do hear that Storm was supposed to fight Sabu but his flight got stuck in Ohio. Taz’s music hits and I pray that he is here to stop the match that’s about to happen. Taz and Bil Alfonso make their way to the ring. Storm goes after Taz and we get a bell
Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs. “Dangerous” Devon Storm (w/ Damien Kane & Lady Alexandra) ref Jim Molineaux
Taz chops the knees and beat on Storm. Alfonso is in the ring with the mic telling Taz to kick his ass. German drops Storm on his head. Taz gets the mic and starts calling Storm Sabu. Taz locks in the Tazmission as Kane yells for Taz to let it go. Storm last for a awhile and gets up getting choked out to end the match in 1.26. Taz keeps on the choke after the bell. Kane gets in the ring to help but Alfonso stops him. Kane grabs Alfonso so Taz locks him in hold. Lady Alexandra jumps on Taz so Alfonso pulls her off and she starts slapping him around. Taz goes after her so she rolls out of the ring. Taz gets on the mic but I can’t hear him.
We cut to Bad Crew in the ring beating on Storm and Kane with chairs. They hit them a lot and leave as the fans chant, “We want Taz”.
“Primetime” Brian Lee vs. Tommy Dreamer (w/ Beulah & Kimona Wanalaya) ref John Finnegan Falls Count Anywhere
Dreamer hits the ring and Lee attacks right away and they go to the floor and into the crowd. Dreamer gets thrown down some bleachers. Dreamer fights back and hits Lee with a crutch. Back to the ringside area and Dreamer uses chairs and cookie trays. Into the crowd again someone hands Dreamer a motorcycle helmet. Dreamer puts it on and headbutts Lee. They fight outside and into the middle of the street as cars try to drive by. Dreamer hits a DDT on the sidewalk. The Bruise Brothers show up and hold a wooden palate in front of his head and give it a big boot. Lee climbs into a loading dock and chokeslams Dreamer through the top of a dumpster and gets the pin at 5.03.
World Champion Raven (w/ Stevie Richards & The Blue Meanie) vs. Sandman (w/ Missy Hyatt) ref Jim Molineaux
Stevie gets on the mic before the match and calls Missy a whore. For some reason the ref called for the bell in the middle of Stevie talking. Missy gets nose to nose with Richards and Richards calls her a rapist. Missy pulls on Stevie’s hair and says he is going to sue her for sexual assault. Missy and Richards go back and forth a bit more. Richards hands her Richards tells Sandman he should leave because he is in no shape to wrestle. Sandman hits the ref with the cane and Raven attacks, Stevie misses the Stevie kick and hits Raven. Sandman canes everybody and goes to pick up the ref so he can cover Raven but Stevie hits the Stevie kick. He and Meanie put Raven on top and he gets the win to retain.
TV Champion Pitbull 2 (w/ Francine) vs. “The Franchise” Shane Douglas ref John Finnegan
Douglas gets on the mic before Pitbull comes to the ring. He says he wants his belt back. Pitbull 2 comes out and they face off. 2 Cold Scorpio now comes to the ring he gets on the mic. Scorpio says that he was supposed to be the one to face Shane for the title at Fight the Power. Scorpio thinks the belt belongs to him and he’s going to take it from Pitbull. He’s also not done with Douglas. He turns back to say something to Pitbull but Shane tries to attack. Scorpio blocks a punch from Shane and floors him with one of his own. Scorpio turns and superkicks Pitbull down. The ref cals for the bell and Shane goes right for the cover and gets two. A drop kick by Shane gets another 2 count. Shane hits a top rope somersault attack for 2 and a flying forearm but again Pitbull kicks out. Irish whip reversed and Pitbull hits a fallaway slam. Multiple clotheslines by Pitbull get a 2 count. Pitbull charges Shane but he ducks and back body drops Pitbull to the floor. Shane grabs Francine and she slaps him. Pitbull press slams Shane back into the ring and corner whips him. Shane comes out of the corner and gets back body dropped. Pitbull hits a running powerslam for 2. Chokeslam gets a 2 count for the champ. Irish whip and Shane ducks a clothesline and takes out Pitbulls legs. Dragon screw by the challenger and then a half crab. Shane works over the leg for the next minutes and a half until Pitbull fires back and gets Shane in a corner he whips him to the opposite corner and charges but Shane gets a boot up and follows that with a bulldog. Pitbull again fights back and slams Shane’s head into the turnbuckle. Shane picks up the title and charges Pitbull but its blocked. Pitbull irish whips Shane and ducks his head allowing Shane to hit a swinging neck breaker. Shane gets the title again and uses this time and gets 2. Shane hits the belly to belly but Pitbull is again able to kick out. Shane goes up top but Scorpio comes back down to ringside and pushes him off the ropes. Pitbull catches in on the way down in a powerslam to secure the win at 9.35. Shane tells the camera it’s time to get extreme with Pitbull 2 and 2 Cold Scorpio. We see that he is gushing blood from the back of his head. Not sure when that would have happened.
World Tag Team Champions The Eliminators vs. The Gangstas ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Saturn sporting a nasty looking cut on his head and two black eyes from back on May 30th. He still even looks out of it. The Gangstas charge the ring and we have our brawl. Saturn and New Jack go into the crowd as Mustafa and Kronus fight in the ring. Garbage cans, chairs and the like are used all around. They fight to the outside of the building. Back at ringside Jack hits the guardrail and Mustafa gets a 2 count. Kronus gets nailed in the head with a cooking sheet. Mustafa drops a leg for 2. All four men now in the ring Saturn attacks Mustafa. Kronus hits a full nelson suplex and Saturn gets a 2 count. Mustafa hits a pump handle slam on Kronus as Saturn comes off the top with an elbow. All four men go to the floor. Saturn hits a bodyslam on Mustafa back in the ring and a Saturnsault and brainbuster for 2. Mustafa fights back and powerslams Saturn. He comes off the 2nd rope with splash for 2. They go to the floor as Kronus and New Jack get back in the ring. Mustafa comes back in and suplexs Kronus. New Jack tries to come off the top with the 187 but Saturn drop kicks the chair into his face. He dumps Mustafa to the floor and they hit Jack with Total Elimination for the win at 9.09
My thoughts on the show,
Thumbs in the middle on this one. Nothing really stands out aside from the fact that El Puerto Ricano got 7 minutes. Nothing was bad besides the MMA fight, which only lasted 20 seconds anyway. It is noteworthy as being the first official tag match between Eliminators and Gangstas that has filmed and released out of the three matches they have had thus far. No real reason to search out this show, but no reason to skip past it either.
